Stay With Me, Without You I'm Dead Anyway
by ShimmerGlimmerCloverx
Summary: They were forgotten by most, just another two tributes that not only lost themselves in the sick little Game that their lives were-they lost each other. They were the Star-Crossed Lovers that nobody knew about. They didn't even know themselves, until all hope was dead,gone and lost- just like their hearts. This is what the Gamemakers didn't want us to see when Clove died. One shot.


**Stay With Me. Without You, I'm Dead Anyway.**

"Cato kneels beside Clove, spear in hand, begging her to** stay with him**_. _In a moment, he will realise it's futile, she can't be saved."

**A/N- I was so disappointed and heartbroken when Cato didn't at least show up when Clove was killed. It was an important part of the book and movie because it showed she wasn't just an evil, crazy Career girl with knives, dead to the world- she meant something to someone. It showed that it wasn't just Katniss who lost people because of the Games, Cato and Clove lost EACHOTHER. So, this is meant to be what happened after Katniss ran off, this meant to be what REALLY happened when the cameras left Clove lying there. This is what the Capitol didn't want Panem to see, this is what REALLY happened after The Feast. Please please please review and favourite, I really need some reviews on this. I might make a full story of what happened leading up to this, their story from the beginning to end, if I get reviews. So please, just take a sec to even just write ONE sentence to show you liked it, or how I could do better. Thanks in advance! Enjoy it x**

_It had been sunny that day. The day she almost died. The day he saved her like she knew he would. It had been warm that day. The day they realised there was something more between them. It had been strange that day. The day he realised he would never forget her and the day she realised she would never forget him. It had been bright that day. The day that they had sealed their tragic, terribly unfortunate and heart-breaking fate. _

"_Cato! CATO!" Clove screamed at the top of her lungs, almost mirroring the way she would scream for him once more, for the last time, just over a year later. Except this time, she was sure he'd come to save her before it was too late. She was certain. "Clove!" he was sure he could save her, and he did. Of course he did. _

_He barely had to use any strength to haul her back up from the edge of the rocks. She had lost her footing, out of distraction, and everything about that was all wrong. Clove _**never** _got distracted. Or shrieked out for help like that. She'd never had to, until now. But something in the air today wasn't right, something about the look in his eyes wasn't right- and that had distracted her. They always came here on a Sunday when there was no training at the Academy. They could really appreciate each other when they were completely alone with the breath taking nature and serene silence._

"_Hey, I'll never let you fall, you didn't think I was gonna, did you?" He sounded a little hurt and disapointeed. "No, I was just… Scared. You're the one person I trust with my life-" She began quickly, still clinging onto him even though she was completely safe from any harm now. "Scared of what? You've never been one to be _**scared**, _of all things, Clove. You've never been afraid to get hurt or even _die-" _He held her in his arms and knew she didn't want him to let go. Not now, not ever. "I was scared of losing you! It's my only fear… You're my only weakness…"_

_A strange feeling that he only felt when he was with Clove conjured up inside of Cato. What was it? Some kind of warmth. Love? Was he really feeling _love?_ He held her tighter and she gripped onto him tighter in return. "Clove, what are we?" he asked simply. "Friends? No, we're not, you don't feel that for even a best friend, not someone like _**you** _Clove. You don't feel like that with anyone else, do you?" She only shook her head, and he could swear there were tears in her eyes before she turned away and gradually loosened her grasp on him before completely letting go. "Hey, look at me," he grabbed her firmly but gently. "Clove, are we… More than friends?" _

_Clove turned slowly to face him, the one person she couldn't deny her attention to whenever he wanted it. Her eyes twinkled and she smiled slightly, but it wasn't a happy one. Was there sadness in that smile? Longing? He couldn't figure it out. "All I know is that my worst fear is losing you. I think when the time comes, we will both know _exactly _what we are. But until then, let's just stay together and cross that bridge when we come to it, right? The main thing is we have each other and-" "And I will _**never** _let you fall," he finished off smoothly for her, and they both beamed at each other. "And I'll _**always **_stay with you." _

**Before they could cross that bridge, it burned. They both knew deep down how they felt. That's the most heart-breaking part. They just didn't fully realise exactly what they had until it was gone. Just like that, at the boom of a cannon, they were forgotten by most, just another two tributes that not only lost themselves in the sick little Game that their lives were- they lost each other. They were the Star-Crossed Lovers that nobody knew about. They didn't even know themselves, until all hope was dead, gone and lost- just like their hearts.**

It had been cloudy that day. The day she left the world and her one true love behind. The day she died. The sky had been full of artificially ominous clouds almost as if the Capitol had planned out her tragic demise already. The day he came to save her a moment too late. It had been cold and bitter that day. So cold. They day they both realised they would be forgotten even if they'd never forget each other, forgotten and dead to the world at the boom of a cannon. It had been dark that day. The day they realised they had known what they were all along, but had both been too scared to say it. To accept it. To figure out exactly what it meant. They'd spent too long trying to figure out _each other _when they could and should have spent it trying to figure out what they were _together. _It had been eerily quiet that day, the silence no longer serene, the day they had _both_ died inside. Half a heart could only survive enough to keep the blood pumping. But Cato's heart beats became flatter and flatter as each second of her absence passed. A broken heart couldn't hold a soul inside, so his escaped the moment she left him. The real heart and soul of the boy left him along with Clove, stolen from him just like she had been. No, half a heart was only enough to hold onto a body, releasing the soul. A broken heart would never beat the same way again.

"Cato!" Clove felt the same kind of fear she had on that precious Sunday up in the mountains. It hadn't been the same between them since then. The fear was worse than the overwhelming pain of her bones shattering as she was slammed hard against the harsh metal of the Cornucopia. The kind of fear that makes your heart beat faster and louder over your screams no matter how loud they are. The kind only losing your other half forced you to feel. It was different from that day, though, almost mirroring it with one distinct difference: it felt real. This time, she knew deep inside he wouldn't be there in time, she knew she couldn't be saved in that moment but it just made it even _more _terrifying than anything.

"CLOVE!" He was much too distant to free her from the stone grasp of the hulking boy looming over her like death itself. It wasn't even the pain of dying and prospect and reality of death that scared her so much, it was the idea of losing him. The unthinkable was about to become a reality for both of them.

"CATO!" One last strangled scream escaped her before she was slammed against the unforgiving structure of the Cornucopia. How ironic. The place they'd killed so many just under two weeks ago was the place both of them would die. Her chest was literally broken. But what was inside of her chest had broken the moment they set foot in the Arena, as the harsh reality that only one could possibly leave it set in.

The pain was even worse inside that it was outside. Most of her bones were broken as she lay crumpled and shattered in a small heap in the no longer bright, vivid green and glimmering grass. It felt so wiry, not soft like it had once looked, and the colour was faded. Or maybe that was because her body was incredibly sensitive to any kind of surface from the pain of being broken into pieces under her skin. Maybe it looked so faded because she was losing her once clear vision from tears and of course, the fact that she was dying was making things go out of focus. Her body was shutting down. She was losing more life as every second passed. Clove's heart was nearing its final, weak beat as time passed.

Clove wasn't ready to leave without saying goodbye. But it was more than a goodbye, it was the first and last 'I love you' he'd ever hear from her. She wanted to escape the pain, she wanted to break out of her broken bones and body with her soul intact- and it would only be intact and almost whole if he knew how she felt. How she'd felt since she saw him. She would refuse to sink into eternal nothingness, not until she'd saw his face one last time.

After what felt like forever, she heard his voice. So clear, despite the pain. "Clove!" It wasn't how she wanted it to sound. It was pained, likely from seeing her crumpled, broken and shattered on the ground. He was at her side in an instant, and her head onto his knees, trying to make her more comfortable but only causing her more pain. She didn't mind, in fact, she was glad he'd done it. She blinked hard and managed to make his face out even through the tears.

She opened her mouth to speak but only a low moan came out. "You don't have to say a word-" "I-I love you."

"I love you and I've never loved anyone before. I love you, I love you and your sarcasm and your possessiveness with your knives and your smile is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, the only sound more perfect than your laugh is your voice when you say my name and- I just love you. I've always loved you since the moment I saw you. I just knew you were the one for me. I love you Clove, and we're gonna be so happy. We'll win together and have an amazing house right in the middle of Victors Village, and you'll have every kind of knife that exists." She smiled and laughed softly at that last part. "We'll be so happy, Clover. Just like I'd always planned. Just stay with me, stay with me…"

"I'll always be by your side but I-I can't stay here…" she managed to sound as clear as she could, ignoring the pain. "No. NO. We're gonna be so happy, Clove. _So happy._ We'll be together, you and me against the world like always. Stay with me. _Stay with me!"_

"I love you." "Stay." "You made me happy just by breathing." "Stay." "I've always been in love with you." "So stay." "I love you more than my knives." "Then stay." "I'm always right beside you." "I know, but you have to stay. Stay where I can see your smile and hear your laugh. Stay with me." "I love you." "I love you." "Win for me." "I'll win _with _you if you stay with me." "I-I can't." "Winning means nothing if I can't do it with you. It won't be home without you. I don't want to win if you can't win with me. You were the only piece of me that was _real. _You were the only part of my life that mattered, I knew it all along, I'm sorry I tripped on my words, I'm sorry it took me so long to catch up with time. I love you and without you-" "Cato-" **"Without you, I'm dead anyway."**

As she took her final breath, she knew it wasn't enough to tell him she loved him. As she took her final breath, he knew she'd tried to make him happy one last time. She'd laughed and smiled so he could hear his favourite sound and see his favourite image one more time. As she took her final breath, they both realised love wasn't enough. Unspoken or spoken, love had _not _been enough for them. In that moment, it wasn't just Clove that died, she took him with her. Just like that, by the crushing of a bone and the boom of a cannon, by a scream and by a whisper of 'I love you', they were forgotten. Their story was untold. The camera's had left the crowd believing he didn't come for her, he'd left her lying there, shattered and crushed, like she'd meant nothing to him. He wasn't meant to break along with her. Careers weren't meant to love. The world wasn't meant to know about them and their story. Yes, just like that, they died together; their love was dead to the world. They were the Star Crossed Lovers that nobody knew about. And they were **dead anyway.**


End file.
